Eastside Windermere Foundation Receives Bellevue Lifespring Wings Award

“Real estate transactions come and go but helping people goes on forever…”

This summarizes a cornerstone belief of Windermere’s culture. 30 years ago, we started the Windermere Foundation to propel this belief into action with the mission to support at-risk youth and members of our communities who are experiencing homelessness and difficult circumstances.

Lew Mason, the Managing Broker at our Yarrow Bay office and Eastside Windermere Foundation Coordinator, while receiving the third Bellevue LifeSpring Wings Award for outstanding community contribution.

We have been lucky enough to collaborate with over 500 organizations to facilitate this effort, including Bellevue LifeSpring. Last week we were honored to receive the third Bellevue LifeSpring Wings Award for outstanding community contribution, and we would like to take this as an opportunity to spread the word about this incredible organization.

Like the Windermere Foundation, Bellevue LifeSpring is committed to making our communities a better place to call “home.” A group of women first started the organization as Overlake Service League in 1911 to help break the cycle of poverty by providing basic needs for children in low-income families, which allowed them to focus on their education. They served Bellevue’s population of just over 150 by delivering food baskets, goats for milk, and seeds and farm equipment to plant and harvest food. During the Great Depression they also helped people find jobs.

Over a century and several population booms later, Bellevue LifeSpring’s methods and services have changed but their dedication to improving our community remains the same. Today, they partner with the Bellevue School District to provide food assistance to students, offer need-based scholarships for summer school and college, distribute vouchers for new back-to-school clothing at local merchants, and supply vouchers for year-round clothing needs at their thrift store, Thrift Culture.

We are so grateful to have Bellevue LifeSpring’s support and recognition with the Wings Award. We look forward to many more years of working together to build a better future for everyone. Find out more about Bellevue LifeSpring’s programs and how you can help here.

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Windermere Foundation Nears $36 Million in Total Donations Raised!

Thanks to the generosity of Windermere agents and the community, the Windermere Foundation collected over $330,000 in donations during the first quarter of 2018. Individual contributions and fundraisers accounted for 58 percent of the donations, while 42 percent came from donations through Windermere agent commissions. So far, we have raised a total of $35,869,961 in donations since 1989 when the Windermere Foundation was started.

Each Windermere office has its own Windermere Foundation fund account that they use to make donations to organizations in their local communities. In the first quarter of 2018, a total of $521,916 was disbursed to non-profit organizations dedicated to providing services to low-income and homeless families throughout the Western U.S.

One organization that has been the recipient of Windermere Foundation funds is Youthnet, serving Skagit, Whatcom, Snohomish, Island, and San Juan Counties in Washington State. Youthnet provides caring and supportive educational and social services to youth and families to help them attain a productive and successful life.

The Windermere Real Estate/Skagit Valley office in Mount Vernon, Washington has donated a total of $1,500 to Youthnet since 2015. Their support has continued to make a difference to the children, youth, and families served.

Donations have helped Youthnet support clients like Tracey and Tom, who are struggling to care for their three young children because of their inability to find and keep jobs due to mental health issues. Support from donors such as Windermere allows Tracey and Tom to receive resources, parenting support, and guidance to keep Sarah, Suzie and Jimmy well-cared-for.  Funding also helps clients like Jennifer, who is finishing high school this year and thinking about going to college. She would be the first one in her family to achieve this goal.

Generous donations to the Windermere Foundation over the years have enabled Windermere offices to continue to support local non-profits like Youthnet. If you’d like to help support programs in your community, please click on the Donate button.

To learn more about the Windermere Foundation, visit http://www.windermere.com/foundation.

 

This post originally appeared on the Windermere.com Blog.

Windermere Foundation Surpasses $35 Million In Giving

Windermere Foundation 2018The Windermere Foundation had another banner year in 2017, raising even more than it did the prior year thanks to the continued support of Windermere franchise owners, agents, staff, and the community. Over $2.4 million was raised in 2017, which is an increase of eight percent over the previous year. This brings our total to over $35.5 million raised since the start of the Windermere Foundation in 1989.

A portion of the money raised last year is thanks to our agents who each make a donation to the Windermere Foundation from every commission they earn. Additional donations from Windermere agents, the community, and fundraisers made up 66% of the money collected in 2017. These funds enable our offices to support local non-profits that provide much-needed services to low-income and homeless families in their communities.

SUMMARY OF FUNDS, GRANTS & DONATIONS IN 2017 

  • Organizations served: 472
  • Number of individual grants fulfilled: 644
  • Average grant amount: $2,964.04
  • Average donation to the Windermere Foundation: $116.08

FUNDING BREAKDOWN

  • Total amount disbursed in 2017:               $2,249,357.14
  • Total disbursed through grants:                 $1,908,843.54
  • Scholarships:                                                     5%
  • Youth/Child Programs:                                   33%
  • Emergency Assistance:                                   24%
  • Shelter:                                                             11%
  • School Assistance:                                            5%
  • Education/Counseling:                                   12%
  • Administrative Expenses:                                 2%
  • Fundraising Expenses:                                      8%

So how are Windermere Foundation funds used? Windermere offices decide for themselves how to distribute the money in their local community. Our offices have helped support school lunch and afterschool programs, housing assistance for homeless families, food banks, homeless shelters, and non-profits that provide basic necessities, such as shoes, clothing, toiletries, and blankets to families in need.

A very notable day in 2017 for the Windermere Foundation was November 15, when a record-breaking $253,782 was given in a single day. A total of 35 non-profit organizations benefitted from that day’s donations, including Attain Housing in Kirkland, WA, which received $56,000 from the Windermere Real Estate East, Inc. group of offices. Other organizations that received donations were Boys and Girls Club of Contra Costa in Walnut Creek, CA, and the Shady Cove School in Shady Cove, Oregon.

2017 also marked the second year of our #tacklehomelessness campaign with the Seattle Seahawks, in which Windermere committed to donating $100 for every Seahawks home game defensive tackle to YouthCare, a non-profit organization that provides critical services to homeless youth. While the Seahawks didn’t make it to the playoffs this year, they did help us raise $31,800. When added to last year’s $35,000, that’s a total donation of $66,800. We are grateful for the opportunity to provide additional support to homeless youth thanks to the Seahawks, YouthCare, and the #tacklehomelessness campaign.

Thanks to our agents, offices, and everyone who supports the Windermere Foundation, we are able to continue to make a difference in the lives of many families in our local communities. If you’d like to help support programs in your community, please click the Donate button.

This post originally appeared on the Windermere Foundation Blog.

Windermere’s Winter Drive Collects over 3,000 Items for Homeless Youth

As part of Windermere’s #tacklehomelessness campaign with the Seattle Seahawks, 37 Windermere offices* in King and Snohomish Counties collected new hats, scarves, gloves/mittens, and warm socks for Windermere’s “We’ve Got You Covered” winter drive. The recipient of these donations was YouthCare, a Seattle-based non-profit that provides critical services and support to homeless youth throughout the Puget Sound area.

Over 3,000 items were collected during the four-week drive, which included some 737 pairs of socks, 391 hats, 467 pairs of gloves/mittens, 111 scarves, and an assortment of other accessories and cash donations. Two agents out of the Mill Creek, WA office even made 32 scarves by hand for the Winter Drive. We are thankful for these generous donations which will go a long way towards helping keep homeless youth warmer this winter season.

The folks at YouthCare were all very thankful to receive the delivery of eight bins full of donated items. And to make the day even more exciting, Blitz, the Seahawks mascot, was on site to oversee the delivery of the items to YouthCare!

Brittny Nielsen, Communications and New Media Specialist said, “We were thrilled to see our friends from Windermere and Gentle Giant dropping off a semi-truck full of donations for homeless youth this season. Having Blitz from the Seahawks show up to help us celebrate was icing on the cake! This crucial donation from Windermere brightens the holidays for youth in need. We’re so grateful!”

All of us at Windermere are very grateful to Gentle Giant Moving Company, who partnered with us on this drive, and generously donated their time and trucks to pick up all of the donated items from our offices and deliver them to YouthCare.

Thank you to our participating offices, the Seahawks, and all those who donated, for making Windermere’s Winter Drive a success!

 

*Participating Windermere offices

BellevueBellevue CommonsBellevue SouthBellevue WestBurienChelanIssaquahKirkland CentralKirkland Yarrow BayLynnwoodMaple ValleyMercer IslandMill CreekMonroeProperty Management – BellevueProperty Management – EdmondsProperty Management – SouthRedmondSeattle-BallardSeattle-Capitol HillSeattle-EastlakeSeattle-Green LakeSeattle-GreenwoodSeattle-LakeviewSeattle-Madison ParkSeattle-MagnoliaSeattle-Mount BakerSeattle-NorthgateSeattle-NorthwestSeattle-Queen AnneSeattle-Sand PointSeattle-Wall StreetSeattle-WedgwoodSeattle-West SeattleServices-MarketingSnohomishWoodinville

This article originally appeared on the Windermere.com blog.

Help Us Keep Homeless Youth Warm Again This Winter

 

All of us at Windermere are very excited to be in the midst of the second season of our partnership with the Seattle Seahawks, and continuing our campaign to help #tacklehomelessness. For every home game tackle made by the Seahawks, the Windermere Foundation is donating $100 to YouthCare, a non-profit that provides critical services to homeless youth throughout the Puget Sound area.

As proud as we are of our #tacklehomelessness campaign and the money we’re raising, we know we can do more. That’s why we’re hosting another Windermere “We’ve Got You Covered” winter drive to benefit YouthCare. Each night in the greater Seattle area, nearly 1,000 young people are homeless. And with the winter months quickly approaching, YouthCare is in dire need of survival supplies to keep homeless youth warm and dry during the long, wet winter.

Here’s what we are collecting:

  • Warm socks
  • Hats
  • Scarves
  • Gloves/mittens

*New items only please

From October 16 through November 10, you can drop off donations to participating Windermere offices in King and Snohomish Counties**. Our friends at Gentle Giant Moving Company are generously donating their time and trucks to pick up all of the donations from our offices. Donations can also be dropped off directly to YouthCare, Monday through Friday from 9am-5pm, at 2500 NE 54th St, Seattle, WA 98105.

We hope you will consider making a donation to our “We’ve Got You Covered” winter drive. Feel free to contact your Windermere agent or local office for more information, or email justask@windermere.com.

 

       

**Windermere Winter Drive Drop-Off Locations

Bellevue

Bellevue Commons

Bellevue South

Bellevue West

Burien

Chelan

Issaquah

Kirkland Central

Kirkland Yarrow Bay

Lynnwood

Maple Valley

Mercer Island

Monroe

Property Management – Bellevue

Property Management – South

Redmond

Seattle-Ballard

Seattle-Eastlake

Seattle-Green Lake

Seattle-Greenwood

Seattle-Lakeview

Seattle-Madison Park

Seattle-Magnolia

Seattle-Mount Baker

Seattle-Northgate

Seattle-Northwest

Seattle-Queen Anne

Seattle-Sand Point

Seattle-Wall Street

Seattle-Wedgwood

Seattle-West Seattle

Services-Marketing

Snohomish

Woodinville

This blog post originally appeared on the Windermere.com blog.